Disney

Our trip to Disney was a-maz-ing!  We visited the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Universal Studios, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, SeaWorld, and LegoLand.  Oh...wait, that's right, they were closed.....more about that to come!  We also went to Downtown Disney and had dear, sweet friends over for dinner one night!  Our house had a pool, a hot tub, and cable ;).

Magic Kingdom was just that....magical!  We rode into outer space with Buzz Lightyear, went all over the world in It's a Small World, flew with Peter Pan, got squirted in the face by Mickey, played on Tom and Huck's island, and SO much more!  The kids got autographs.  We all got souvenirs.  We watched the Electric Parade.  They even had a gluten free bun for my hot dog on Main Street!  

Epcot was great!  The kids got to go on a mission with Agent P from Phineas and Ferb.  They were asked to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the Liberty Inn!  There were so many interesting things for them to do and see there!  We also got to blast into outer space.  Some of us took the spin free ride while others chose the ride with "g's".  They really enjoyed the race cars too!

Universal Studios had lots of "movie" type rides.  We fought aliens with the Men in Black, were in a Twister, and almost got turned into a minion from Despicable Me!  The kids loved seeing all the characters on the streets as well as the old timey cars at the diner.  My favorite ride was E.T. but I think Joss preferred watching the Barney show!

Animal Kingdom was loads of fun!  We went on a safari, the boys road "the Yeti" (3x) and we watched The Festival of the Lion King.  The kids (big and small) always love seeing the animals and the Tree of Life there!  We had a little school on Rafiki's mountain which is always a plus on vacation ;). (#alwayshomeschoolin')

Saturday night we had our friends the Phillips' and Epley's over for a gourmet dinner of Domino's pizza!  We loved getting to spend time with them and catch up.  Talking about old times when things were much.....simpler ;).  Christy and I were "BFF" WAY back in the days of Lowes Grove.  Her friendship is one I will treasure forever!  This trip was special because we got to meet her adorable daughter Claire!  

Hollywood Studios was fun....for those who got to go!  Unfortunately sometime before 6am Sunday morning, poor Jaxon woke up vomiting.  He was really sick.  It started with swimmers ear the day before but apparently he picked up some yucky bug at one of the parks.  He was pitiful.  Couldn't keep anything down, was in a lot of pain, and was on the verge of dehydration.  Even the "big" boys want their mama when they don't feel good!  Joss and I stayed home with him while the others went on to the park.  Jax and I prayed all day that he would feel better.  He specifically prayed to feel better by dinner time.  The others had a great day riding the Tower of Terror, watching the Indiana Jones show, and making special R2D2's for those of us at home!  Sure enough, God answered Jaxon's prayer and he stopped throwing up a little before dinner time!  He was very weak for a few days after but improved drastically!

We originally planned to go to Legoland on Monday.  Since Jax wasn't quite up to par, we decided to change our plans and go to SeaWorld instead and put Legoland off for last!  We just knew the boys were going to love it and we wanted everyone feeling their best!  So off to SeaWorld with Christy and Claire!  We watched the Shamu show first!  It was great, of course.  I have to say it's not nearly as good now that the trainers aren't allowed in the water.  But those ginormous creatures sure are amazing!  We watched the hilarious sea otter and seal show, petted a few sting rays, and walked under the swimming sharks!  We ended up cutting this trip a little short.  Jaxon was still weak and poor Caden came down with a fever.  I wasn't sure how high it was while we were there but I knew he didn't feel good when he could barely hold his head up and chose to ride in the stroller!  Once we got home, mr. thermometer told us his fever was just over 104!  He got some meds, a luke warm bath and cool rag on the head and off to bed he went!  Thankfully he woke up feeling like a new little boy!

Which brings me to our last day!  We took our time, then loaded up and headed off on our 45 minute ride to Legoland (which remember was originally planned for Monday).  We passed 2 dead wild hogs on the way!  According to Christy, seeing one is fairly normal, but seeing 2 made us special ;). haha!  As we pull in the parking lot, I noticed it looked a little empty.  Thinking we picked a great day to come, we try to go on in.  Then we see it.  The sign says "CLOSED".  Yep, we never looked back at the calendar and had no idea Legoland was closed on Tuesdays.  The boys took the news very well.  Nana told them we would have to make another trip down just to go to Legoland.  They were ok with that.  Mommy on the other hand, shed a few tears.  I'm not gonna lie.  It had been an emotional few days with all the sickness and I was looking forward to their faces and excitement.  I was slightly devastated!  We decided to take a trip to Downtown Disney instead.  After all, if you can't have Legoland, the Lego Store is the next best thing, right?!  We did a little shopping and a little walking before heading back to the house to enjoy our last evening in the pool and hot tub and just enjoying each others company.  We were so blessed to have been able to spend that time together as a family making memories that will last a lifetime!  

Thank you a million times over to Nana and Poppi for making this trip possible for us!  We love ya'll!!

Trust me when I say this doesn't even touch the amount of photos we took!  I had a really hard time choosing these!  

Jossalyn is 2!

It seems hard to believe that it's been 2 years since we got the phone call that our daughter had been born and was waiting for us in Miami!  What a whirlwind of a few days that was!  Packing the car and driving all that way with only a few hours sleep!  When I sit and think of the months that led up to that day. The events that occurred.  The "almosts" we faced along with the other roller coaster type feelings that come with any adoption I am sure!  You can really see God's fingerprints all over every little thing. He knew this sweet baby girl was going to be born on January 22nd.  He knew that she was our daughter.  He hand picked her for our family.  And we thank Him daily for her.  I can't imagine our lives without this little princess.  What joy she brings to us!  Happy Birthday sweet girl!  We love you SO much!

Here she is just a few days old.  Snoozing at Hollywood Beach, Florida!

Here she is thinking long and hard about all these people at the Magic Kingdom, Florida!

Snow Fun

 One thing my kids look forward to each winter season is snow. They actually pray that they will get "at least a little to just play in or build a snowman, or eat some snow cream.....and maybe sled just a little...".  Well, their prayers were answered just a few short days before our family vacation to Disney. Now I must admit, I look forward to snow each year as well.  But when the forecast called for it, I was a little less than excited for the first time ever!  We had a little birthday celebration for Joss at "chickalay" on Thursday night and I had so much to do to prepare for our trip (yes, I know, you don't have to say it...."me, me, me"....{blush}). Well as our birthday celebration was coming to an end, the ice and snow was just beginning!  We woke up the next morning to snow covered ground and four eager kiddos! We sent Daddy-O off to work, bundled up and out we went! And all FIVE of us had a great time! The boys did everything they wanted.  They played, built a mini snowman, ate snow cream, and even got to sled! And guess what, the clothes still got packed and washed for our trip ;).

I didn't realize that all of them had their eyes closed in this pic until we got back inside! But you can see mini frosty!

Hello 2013

I can't believe it is 2013.  Every year I say the year flew by but I think 2012 may have had race car status.  To think back on the blessings this year brought is humbling.  To think back on the "shoulda", "coulda", and "wouldas"....well,  might very well make a person crazy.  I am realizing more than ever that unfortunately, I am better at that than I care to admit.
When I sat down to write this post, I was reminded of a previous post I did back in September.  The verse I was brought to over and over during that time in my life was Colossians 3:2.  As we begin this new year, I'm not making resolutions that will inevitably be broken.  I'm not even sure I am going to have a "word" for the  year as I have in years past.  I do plan to be better at setting my mind on things above.  I think more often than most will confess, we get caught up with what's going on around you.  Putting too much value on the things of this world and what others think.  It's freeing to let go of that.  I know I can personally say I spent far too much of my life in this category.  It's a hard one when you are a people pleaser by nature!  To put it simply...."Ain't nobody got time for that!"
So, as we enter in to this New Year, it is my prayer that I can be more aware of the needs around me.  That God will open my eyes to the ones that may go unnoticed.  That I can be willing to go where He wants me to go and do the things He wants me to do to better His Kingdom.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21

Birthdays!

My birthday was the day after Christmas and Daddy-O's was the 29th.  Unfortunately he had to work on my birthday so Poppi took a half day from work and came and watched the kiddos so Nana and I could do a little shopping!  The weather was a little less than perfect , raining cats and dogs, but we didn't let that stop us!  We had a great time!  The afternoon was spent relaxing at home in my jammies with my sweet kids!  On the 28th, Daddy-O WAS off so he let me sleep in and spoiled me like it was my birthday all over again!  He's such a good man! (insert old school song here...."What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man!... don't hate if it's now stuck in your head for the next 24 hours).

On Daddy-O's birthday, we waited on him and let him do what ever he wanted!  He enjoyed a little shopping himself, lunch at "the Horn", and ended the evening with popcorn and a movie with the fam.  

All of us squeezed into a little booth at Longhorn!

Had to post a pic of my surprise birthday gift Daddy-O so cleverly left on the Keurig so I would find it first thing!  It was a new bottle of perfume!

Christmas fun

We had a wonderful time this Christmas.  It was the first time ever we stayed home on Christmas day!  We visited my side of the family at Grandma and Papa's house the Saturday before Christmas and visited Chris' side of the family on Christmas Eve.  It was so nice to get up and relax Christmas morning and not have to rush to be anywhere!  As Christmas Day drew closer, I began to wonder if we had made the right decision with this.  Then I picked Jaxon up from Sunday School the Sunday before Christmas and his teacher told me how excited he was to be able to stay home and enjoy his family.  That was confirmation that we had indeed made the right choice!  It doesn't matter what day you see your family, just that you see them and enjoy them, which we did!  Here are a few pictures from the festivities!

Family Photos

It's always funny to think back to when Jaxon was a baby and I had his pictures taken every month.  Yes, I am serious.  Every. Month. With Camron and Caden it was obviously less but poor Joss has hardly ever had her pictures take professionally!  Now, don't get me wrong, they all have a camera of some sort in their face a lot of the time!
Anyway, we had our family pictures taken for the 2nd time since the princess arrived!  I could not have been happier with the photos.  Joss is a hard one to crack if she doesn't know you (and sometimes even when she does) so she is very serious but these pictures are fantastic!  They were taken by Landis Brown of Landis Brown Photography.  She is great!  I highly recommend her!  Please let me know if you would like her information!  I'm sure she would love to capture your family or sweet kiddos for beautiful memories!
And FYI, I'm going to have a hard time choosing which pictures to post!

Beautimous!

This makes my mama heart so happy!

Group hug!

My sweet kiddos loving on each other!  I think this shot may have been their idea!

This one cracks me up!  Joss looks so "merry" doesn't she?! 

LOVE this!  And it's a regular occurrence in our house to be honest.  Daddy-O and Mommy smooching and the kids pretending to be grossed out ;).  

How cute is that little mischievous tongue sticking out!

I told you I'd have a hard time choosing!  

From the Darling Dukes to all of you, Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and BLESSED 2013!